Wednesday, November 30, 2011

EvE online expands with one of the biggest updates in a good while. CCP listened to their fans and released an update that really is there to for them. This summer they last expansion really didn't sit well with so many that they had to do something after all.

from CCP.

EVE Online: Crucible forges community feedback into a release filled with player-requested features and fixes. New battlecruisers, a massive graphics update, time dilation and an improved UI are just some of the 100 additions and improvements that have arrived November 2011 in EVE Online's 15th free expansion.

Today marks the release of Lineage 2 going F2p! I loved this game when it came out cause it was more like Diablo than Everquest at the time. Now it does seem dated but at the same time for a free to play game it still holds a special place in my heart.
There has been so many updates since I played it that I am curious to see what has changed it the years since I played.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

The Official story trailer for World of Warcraft Cataclysm - Patch 4.3 Hour of Twilight is out. Just as expected the 10 minute long trailer was a preview and nothing more. This is the kind of story based trailer we expected from Blizzard.

Monday, November 28, 2011

So what does a trailer for a community based program/ website for a game series look like? Like THIS! Call of Duty Elite does have a lot of features in common with Battlefield 3's Battlelog but has some of its own unique features. Not only does it cover both Modern Warfare 3 but also Black Ops. The more fun things about ELITE though require you to pay the subscription though. Like competitions, ELITE TV and so forth. I think ELITE would be a great tool for players if all the features were free. Companies are out to make money though right. I do like that heatmaps, group and clans are free though. The sad thing is this trailer really doesn't show off what the service is capable of doing. It's just some nice game footage enhanced to show off a trailer for it.

One of the best maps for Battlefield 2 returns in the Back to Karkand expansion that comes out in December. If you own a copy of Battlefield 3 limited it is already free or if you got regular the download will be 14.99/1200 Microsoft points. 3 popluar vechicles return in this expansion. The STOVL fighter jet, desert buggy, and one of the APC's. I love me some desert buggy driving! Check out the map in the trailer below!

A side scrolling cartoon based fighter uses yourself as the avatar. This game was supposed to come out closer to the launch of the Kinect and even a year later it still looks iffy. That and the trailer is really terrible!

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Jaded Vanities, a burlesque troupe in Sydney, Australia, is doing their own rendition of "The Empire Strikes Back". Everyone gets the Rule 63 treatment, even the Wookies. (However, Leia is the exception, and YES, she is in the metal bikini.) I'm not quite sure what to think of this. On the one hand, I'm digging the costumes and the theatrical side of it, and some of their moves are incredibly impressive.

On the other hand... WTF, sexy Wookies and Sand-People... I don't even... o_O

Friday, November 25, 2011

You may be noticing a lack of posts the past day or so on the site. This is a time for family, shopping and relaxation. So we apologize for the lack of normal content from us but hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. We promise that Geek Switch staff will be back to a sane and normal point come Monday.

edit... This is why I don't write on no sleep and so forth... I miss spelled the title.. back to sleep.

With only a few more Fridays before the December 20th launch of the game to go. We get a chance to see this weeks video which showcases Character Progression of the Jedi Consular. We get to see the higher levels of the Shadow Advance class and its stealthy combat. Then there more force heavy using of the Sage. Shadow relays on surprising and lightsaber skills where the Sage is a powerful force wielder and healer.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

When I first saw this making the rounds on the net I thought it was another fake WoW commercial... Nope it is real. With the Chuck Norris Hunter commercial that makes 2 videos in under a week. Who will be next?! Aubrey Plaza was in Scott Pilgrim Vs The World and currently is on Parks and Recreation. She now loves her copy of World of Warcraft and has an EX-Boyfriend. I wonder how many other guys have gone though this. I know I have got a few ex-girlfriends addicted to World of Warcraft. So this commercial is maybe more true for some of the gamers out there than you know! Oh and it looks like she plays Horde! HA

Hey Internet, it's time for episode 22 of The Geek Switch Podcast! This week Dante and I are joined by Geek Switch's newest addition, Robin, to discuss ALL THE GAMES, look back at the GameCube and Xbox on their 10th anniversaries, and, of course, go over the news of the week. We have a very odd but special contest running this week so check in and listen on how to enter! Remember to stick around after the show for the Big Crits Report with StoneyBaby and until next week, keep it switched on!

Seems that a german website may have leaked the video trailer for World of Warcraft Patch 4.3 Hour of Twilight. So soon as I found out I posted it. Deathwing is going down! Is this really the trailer for 4.3 without the audio overlay?! This is odd for Blizzard to release a 10 minute long trailer for a Patch! I have a feeling maybe this was leaked? The video is already making the rounds on the blogs such as Attack of the Geek. I really hope they do a shorter story trailer cause this is unlike Blizzard. Even Kotaku has published the video as well.

Freddie Wong the visual master does it again. This time they do a video for that was supposed to be for someone who pledges over 9,001 for their new web series project, Video Game High School.Dragon Ball Z is where this joke happens to be from. This anime popularity that escalated during the late 90's on is one of the man reasons this internet meme exists. At one point a character asked what is his fighting power level at, with the response being a slightly over the top "Its' over 9,000." The other man reason for this meme spreading is well, 4chan... enough said there.

This video happens to be the most obscured and funny video I think they have done yet. Mostly cause how bad it is. The armor is all wrong, the costumes look terrible and I hope it is on purpose. There are many Dragon Ball Z cosplayers around the country at anime conventions that could do 100x better in their sleep. Yes there are some terrible ones as well but. I expect a LOT more out of Freddie and his videos. Hopefully the bad costumes were on purpose? Nice try sir... but serious WTF!

About the video from the masterminds themselves

When we raised money for Video Game High School, our feature length webseries, we put a joke reward for the person who pledged $9,001 - the "Over 9000" Reward. That person would receive a video of Brandon and I re-enacting the Over 9000 dressed in Dragonball Z costumes.

Since nobody pledged $9,001 and the demand for this video was so high, we've decided to create it and release it to the internet anyway.

Also, this will probably be the only Dragonball Z video we will ever make

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Nissin's Cup Noodles commercials bring some big guns to help sell these instant meals. Why can't we get some epic Ramen videos in the United States like these!? Unfair Japan, unfair! Still how simple and amazing this ads are it makes me go WTF... Mostly cause I want how that business meeting went.

If you didn't get him with your pre-order at least you can download him now. 2 Challenge maps, 2 extra skins and you get to play the Cape Crusaders sidekick. He reminds me a lot of Ezio with that hood up.

Monday, November 21, 2011

I don't even want to know who THOUGHT this was a good idea. Comic Book fanboys have you ever wanted to see something that would cause your beloved characters to scar children for years and years?! Here you go! Ya cause I really wanted to see Iron Man shake that ass!

Doctor Who is about a month away from returning. Christmas Day can not get here soon enough. Last year was such a perfect special that it would be hard to top. I mean I can see myself watching that Doctor Who special every year! DOCTOR WHO: THE DOCTOR, THE WIDOW AND THE WARDROBE! Could we ask for a better title!? I think not.

Images of the new covers of Empire is out that shows off Batman and Bane. So batman has a light gun and is older. Bane looks like a 90's WWF wrestler? Why am I starting to feel that this might be a bad movie compared to the previous two. Also here is a slight bit of info from inside the pages of Empire.

From the new issue of Empire Magazine!

"It's really all about finishing Batman and Bruce Wayne's story. We left him in a very precarious place. Perhaps surprisingly for some people, our story picks up quite a bit later, eight years after The Dark Knight. So he's an older Bruce Wayne; he's not in a great state.

I have to admit this is a really well produced video. The rap might not be the best and the Link doesn't seem as typical version of him but still. Damn fine job guys! This is less weird than the Gannon musical from earlier in the summer.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Is this Blizzard jumping the shark. To celebrate 7 years of World of Warcraft they did a new celebrity commercial using Chuck Norris as the Hunter class. It has been a good while since they have done one of these commercials so it is a surprise they choose this actor for this one. I figured it would have been an actress or something more related to the upcoming expansion. Nope... they picked the joke of the Internet Chuck *Fing Norris.* Not to mention the commercial basically is a WoW version of Norris facts.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Get a look at what comes in the rather pricey but from this video worth it Collector's Edition of Mass Effect 3. 79.99 is typical for this type of edition but sometime it is not enough for that price. Bioware did one of these videos for Star Wars the Old Republic and it was a huge success. Most companies need to promote like this!

Friday, November 18, 2011

This video pits both of the major players behind the Epic Rap Battles of History videos at each other. By far one of the most original videos they have done and one of the best both lyrically and visually. Having each person's previous character roles int he back ground while they rap. Or shifting to said roles as the lyrics reflect it. Incredible job to both of these fine comedians of YouTube. Also this video does a perfect job of introducing that the ERB will have its own YouTube channel and that a second season is coming. Starting in December it looks like we may have Mario Bros. VS Master Chief!

Not as funny as the previous Children in Need specials but a longer trailer for the upcoming Christmas Special. This could be a very interesting Dec 25th. Matt Smith really is full of surprises isn't he!

Honestly if you don't know what Battlefield 3 is by now. Ether you don't own a TV, vist this site, game on the interweb or have been hiding under a gundark! This trailer shows off more exciting Battlefield action in the first map pack for the top rated FPS.

It is Friday which means time for more trailers from Bioware for Star Wars The Old Republic. The new MMO launches Dec. 20, 2012 and has a few weeks left of beta. If you sign up before the 20th of Nov. you will get a chance to try the game on its last beta weekend Nov 26th. Many players have high hopes for this new game since Galaxies is shutting down and Bioware is known for crafting amazing stories in games. This Flashpoint, aka dungeon, is another example that gameplay and story are being mixed rather well in this new MMO.

With the 1 million new players it seems the SOE is hard at work poping out new content for DCUO. The next DLC takes us to Central City the home of the Flash! Barry Allen has become one of my more recent favorite heroes in the DC Comics Universe and it is nice to see him get the spotlight.

From the DCUO forms!

SAN DIEGO – November 17, 2011 –Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) will soon launch its second Downloadable Content (DLC) pack for DC Universe Online with the worldwide release of Lightning Strikes, later this year. Launching simultaneously on the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC, Lightning Strikes introduces Electricity Powers – the game's eighth power set – and a new adventure starring the iconic speedster The Flash.
"In this DLC pack, fans have the opportunity to immerse themselves in another great character and action-packed story from the DC Universe," said Jens Andersen, Creative Director for DC Universe Online. "With exciting gameplay, a new power set and new locations to share with your friends, we packed a whole new kind of fun into this DLC pack and are eager for our players to dive into another legendary adventure."
In addition to the new Electricity Power set, DC Universe Online players will also be able to interact with The Flash-themed characters and content with new maps and features:

Central City – An all-new map that offers players a more open world experience that provides on-going gameplay, with solo and group missions.

The Flash Museum Duo – Players can now experience the Central City of today and tomorrow. In TheFlash Museum Duo, players can travel back in time to the very moment when Barry Allen became The Flash and battle foes inside the Central City Police Station!

Electricity Powers – Players now have the opportunity to get the new Electricity Power set for current and new characters. The new Electricity Power set allows players to leverage the lightning power of electricity and use new types of attacks in combat. Electricity Powers include the Tesla Ball, which creates a floating ball of electricity that zaps nearby enemies; the Shockwave, which shoots streams of electric bolts at enemies; and Ionic Drain, which drains energy from the environment to replenish a player's health while simultaneously damaging surrounding enemies.

New Gear – Players can earn all-new gear sets including the new Zoom-inspired gear set for villains, and the new Black Lightning-inspired gear set for heroes.

New Characters – Lightning Strikes brings players new iconic DC Universe characters including Livewire, Black Lightning, The Top, The Trickster, Static and more. New characters – such as Livewire – will be featured as new "Inspired By" options for players who can choose to create a new character inspired by some of DC Universe's legendary characters. Additional new characters – such as Black Lighting – serve as a bounty mission that players can fight if they choose to be a villain.

The MechWarrior Online Website announces this upcoming Free-To-Play game will use Crytek's CryENGINE 3. This is great news for fans of the series. Seems that the company is taking a page from the Crysis modding community which made a very damn impressive Crysis 1 mod called MechWarrior: Living Legends. This could be the reboot the series needs since there hasn't been a true game since MechWarrior 4 on PC years ago.

"Working with CryENGINE is a true pleasure," said Russ Bullock, president of Piranha Games. "It is definitely the best choice for us: Both the character animation pipeline with the procedurally and physics based animations and the destruction system fit our goals perfectly and allow us to develop a truly unique AAA experience based on the award-winning BattleTech Universe."

You can read more from the official post over at the Mech Warrior Online site here.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Hey Internet, it's time for Episode 21 of the Geek Switch Podcast and in honor of the show turning 21 we decided to drink a little alcohol. I'm going to be honest with you guys, I don't remember everything we talked about. There was more Modern Warfare 3 discussion, we talked a bit about the news, but mostly it's us being even weirder than we normally are. We hope you enjoy it though.

Of course, stick around after the main show for a (surprisingly brief) Big Crits Update. Stoneybaby is still recovering from slaying Ragnaros with the rest of the Big Crits crew, so Suzu once again stepped in to give us his comical commentary on the week's events. Until next week, keep it switched on!

Rift 1.6 is now on the servers. Adding a signifigant amount of new content with it. This new trailer sets the story and gives you a look at the new patch or mini expansion.

From Rift
From the Embers - Steel your souls for RIFT 1.6, which introduces a new zone, dungeon, and sliver, plus Fae Yule festivities, and much more.

Earth and Fire have joined forces as the Wanton Maw to besiege Ember Isle, abandoned home of the proud Kelari. The Ascended must journey through the repaired Travel Stones and stop the cultists before Maelforge breaks free to doom the world.

You can also check out the content in detail over at RIFT's site here.

Finally the full first trailer for Pixar's new original film. Not another sequel to a movie they have already done but something fresh. Brave opens in US theatres June 22, 2012. Seems this movie is about a Scottish Princess that yearns to be something more. How often do you see animated kilts !?

HOLY Crap. This show is known as Star Blazers in the USA but just like Robotech it really is not like the original. Space Battleship Yamato was and still is an amazing iconic part of anime history. With a recently live action movie and reanimated anime film the fact that are making a new series is very worrying and exciting at the same time. The animation looks fantastic. Could this be the long waited rebirth of the series for Japan and the US?!

More gameplay footage from the new Syndicate game is always welcome. This is my first big title of the year next year. Mostly cause it is most welcome return of one of my personal favorite games from the past. The more I see of this game, especially the co-op the most excited I become.

So this is what happens when a good company like Razer makes a WII/Move type motion controller for the PC. That and they test it in a game that has no motion control support on any platform. Granted the moment in game looks rather smoother than ether the PS3 MOVE or the Wii Mote but it still does not look better than a mouse and keyboard.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

It 7 minutes of footage from the sequel to a game only hardcore fans really loved. Final Fantasy 13 was a rather big disappointment. It took 30 hours or so for the game really to get going. Now we are getting a second game in there series rather than them moving on to tell a new story.. Great.

Too bad Chrono. Seem that The Doctor beat you to the end and fixed things before you could beat the end boss. Yep cause The Doctor is bad ass no matter what format he is in. 2D sprite Doctor Who for the win!

Monday, November 14, 2011

Goldeneye Reloaded is the latest in the long line of James Bond 007 video games. Originally released for the Wii in November 2010, the game has been ported to the PS3 and Xbox 360 early this November. This game is disappointing for me. On the Wii, this is a great game, but on either Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 this is a bad excuse for a modern shooter.

It looks, and kind of feels, like a Call of Duty Game, but doesn’t play nearly as well. Since this game is so much like the latest COD games, I’m going to compare them. The controls aren’t as good in 007 as they are in COD. The buttons are the same basic layout, but in Call of Duty, the controls flow so much better. In 007, the movements are almost jerky, you can’t reload and crouch at the same time. The framerate drops randomly even when playing locally. Sometimes you’ll push a button, reload for example, and it will just ignore the command.

The move based on the book that I have no knowledge of. So in the future 12 districts give each year 2 male and females between the age of 12-18 to be trained to fight to the death. What the hell kind of freaking book series is this?! That is one of most weird and screwed up plot ideas I think I have ever heard. I mean if the kids got chosen and though ti was a big deal and didn't know what the Hunger Games were that be different. Like Ender's Game they keep secrets from the kids about the training and it is a honor to get sent to Battle School. Where this the kids know about it... Just seems weird that this got made into a movie before so many other good books. Guess something needs to fill that Harry Potter void.

Wait... They are making another Kingdom Under Fire game!? Well I am confused considering how lack luster the last game was. The game looks pretty but holy hell... that female armor does nothing for protection! I would almost say this trailer is not that safe for work depending on your feelings of boob physics. The trailer does show off that it might be far more multiplayer based than before. Still reminds me of Dynasty Warriors though.

So, this is the week of the year where ALL the games come out. Let's get right into what you can pick up this week and what you should avoid like the plague. (Also, yes, this is another excuse to put a picture of a dildo on the front page. You're welcome!)

Well it is a live action mixed with gameplay for a Free-To-Play MMO that sort of still exists. I like the screwed up nature of this trailer, Nuns with guns, bad ass cops and school girl gangs! The one thing it doesn't do is really give us anything about the game other than you can play what your normally not in real life. Ether a cop or criminal. Nice try guys.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Umm WHAT the hell is Hollywood Smoking now!? Seems like Lord of The Rings, Chronicals of Narnia and Disney had a acid trip orgy.

SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN Synopsis: In the epic action-adventure Snow White and the Huntsman, Kristen Stewart (Twilight) plays the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen (Oscar® winner Charlize Theron) out to destroy her. But what the wicked ruler never imagined is that the young woman threatening her reign has been training in the art of war with a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth, Thor) dispatched to kill her. Sam Claflin (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) joins the cast as the prince long enchanted by Snow White's beauty and power. The breathtaking new vision of the legendary tale is from Joe Roth, the producer of Alice in Wonderland, producer Sam Mercer (The Sixth Sense) and acclaimed commercial director and state-of-the-art visualist Rupert Sanders.

The single best game that isn't a casual title on the iphone/ipad/ipod platform gets a sequel. Using the Unreal 3 Engine at what at the time people thought was impossible on a mobile phone. This game really took off and was one of the few reasons I keep my iphone for so long before giving in to Android. I can only hope that the developers show some love and port it as well. If you own a iphone 4 or 4s this is a must buy when it is released. Funny thing is the game was original designed to be a kinect title!?

It is Friday that means another look into Star Wars the Old Repubulic from Bioware! This time we get to see some info about both the Sith Inquisitor and the Republic Trooper. As well some PVP hints on how to deal with both classes! There is also major amount of beta keys being released cause the last days of beta are coming. Just over a month till the headstart release.

December launch date for this new FPS MMO cant get here soon enough. The newer the trailer that comes out the most polished it looks and more excited I become. It helps that the story is written by Orson Scott Card, who wrote Ender's Game, one of my personal favorite books. So I have high hopes for this Free-To-Play game.

From the Red 5 website.

Firefall is a F2P online shooter that combines a massive open world with a competitive eSports mode. Customize your battleframe, use your abilities, save humanity. Beta is on now. More invites coming soon.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Following the major success of the relaunch of DC Universe Online to Free-To-Play SOE has announced another major title is following. That is right Everquest II as a whole is going F2P. They did introduce some servers last year that tried this type but it forced people to reroll charicters for the main game. No longer will there be segregated Free-To-Play servers! I get to see my old toons again and I can't wait to go back into see what has changed.

What happens when you take a boss from Double Dragon and throw him at the NES Universe in a love letter to old gaming? Maybe we should call it a love letter and more of a screwed up 8bit acid trip. Just makes you go WOW, what were they smoking? Check out the game over at http://www.abobosbigadventure.com .

The end of Ezio's story comes out next Tuesday. This game finally merges all three stories of the main characters from all the previous games. We know something is coming for Desmond in 2012 but this story will lead in to that while still clearing up and questions we have had about Altair and Ezio. This franchise came out of nowhere to take the gaming world by storm and has done nothing but improve with each outing. I can not wait to see what lies in store for the end of the journey.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Hey Internet, how's the whole Modern Warfare thing going for you? Well, if you're looking for something to listen to while logging millions of hours into multiplayer, you're in luck because here's The Geek Switch Podcast! This week Colin, Dante, and I talk about the news of the week, Uncharted 3, Sonic Generations, Skyrim, Dragon Ball Z Ultimate Tenkaichi, Lord of the Rings: The War in the North, and, of course, Modern Warfare 3.

Be sure to stick around after the main show this week for a very exciting Big Crits Update with StoneyBaby. He's got big news about the guild and an exciting story to tell that you won't want to miss. Until next week, keep it switched on!

If you've played the first two Uncharted games, like myself, there is no chance in the world that you weren't excited for Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves alone is one of the defining experiences for the Playstation 3 and if you haven't at least tried the series you're clearly missing out. It's fair to say then that I had very high expectations of Uncharted 3. You might even say totally stoked.

The Uncharted series, for the six of you who are still unfamiliar, are third person action games that bandy about between exploration, platforming, shooting, and storytelling. Uncharted's big selling point however is the way it effortlessly flows between these pieces to craft an action packed story with playable setpieces unlike anything you've ever seen in other games. If fact, segments of Uncharted 2, such as the infamous train level, are pointed to as huge technical accomplishments even two years later.

See which one is better? PS3 is some parts looks down right like crap compared to Xbox 360. Just like Battlefield 3, the PC version yet again stands above and beyond the consoles versions but not nearly as much. This game was designed for consoles and really the 360 first and it really shows.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

From Software's newest title, Dark Souls, is the spiritual successor to Demon's Souls, an action RPG released on the Playstation 3. This time, the title is also available on the Xbox 360, but don't worry, Demon's Souls fans, the game you know and love is untarnished, and now it's available to a wider audience.

In Dark Souls, you are an Undead, marked with the accursed Darksign. Those branded by the Darksign are revived when they die, but living forever, or having to experience death multiple times, eventually drives them insane, or "hollow." For this reason, the Undead are corralled to an asylum in the northern mountains of a land called Lordran, to wait for the end of the world. This is your character's fate, until another Undead sets you free from your cell and gives you a vague mission to travel to Lordran to ring something called the "Bell of Awakening."

Just after Youmacon we get to see what they premiered. Which was new parody episodes of Dragon Ball Z Abridged and Hellsing Ultimate Abridged. I have been personally waiting for this for awhile cause last year they were both so funny I watched them more than a few times. For those who aren't familiar with Team Four Star, they are a fan dub group. They took DBZ condensed it and added in more off the wall humor than the show originally did. Some say that they are one of the parody teams on the web when it comes to anime. Most would agree cause unlike typical voice over work, where you write to match the lip flaps. Team Four Star uses software like Adoble After Effects to do the reverse and match to their new voice track with some fantastic trickery. Check them out over at www.teamfourstar.com or on YouTube. Also I would say nether video is safe for work or small ears.

So Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 came out today and along with it a new commercial. This is rather blatant product placement but it is something we have expected since Jeep has teamed up with Activsion before. I do love at the bottom there is a do not attempt warning on the commercial. YA no kidding cause I know a ton of people that would drive a Jeep at a RPG. Or knows where they can find a tank to escape from. If you also expect to see any game play in this trailer your sadly mistaken cause it in all reality is about the Jeep. Cause when I think of a video game the first thing I want to do is go drop enough money to go buy a car that is specially made based around a game. Ya, ooooh it has MW3 gauges and tire covers!

Does this trailer just make you wonder why Hollywood would be remaking this? I mean even with all the weight Mr. Hill has lost he still plays the fat side kick. Fair warning this trailer is NOT SAFE FOR WORK. That right red band is NSFW! Granted I think it's mostly due to drug use and cursing.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Ummmmmmmm.... Ok. We have featured some of cyriak videos on here before but this one is just. I just not sure how I feel about it compared to his other work. It is still a very WTF kind of video. Maybe cause I am less freaked out by this cause of Cat Bus from My Neighbor Totoro.

10 minute of behind the scenes of the Hobbit with Peter Jackson! Ya, this is something nice to come home and watch after a geeky weekend. Not only do we get to see how they are shooting the movie in 3D but oh ya... there are 3D pictures of Lord of the Ring that exist. The film is also being shot at 48 frames per sec which is different than your typical 32 MM film. Interesting thing they talk about how the new cameras are changing how you design sets and makeup cause of the color saturation is different than older film making. One of the most fantastic things about this video is they talk about doing the concept art in 3d and if you have a pair of red/blue 3d glasses at home you can see the art as well! What a way to end a video.

Some of the best maps from the game Battlefield 2 returns in the expansion for BF3. Few more vehicles, weapons and 4 new maps! I can't wait to get back to Wake Island myself! December get here already I want more BF3

This is MW3 take on the Solider in All of Us live action commercial. This isn't quite as good as the one they made for MW2 but it has Sam Worthington, Jonah Hill and Dwight Howard. Damn has Jonah Hill lost a lot of weight!

Official trailer for Aion 3.0: The Promised Land. At a hefty volume of 4GB, the update contains the player housing system, new mount system, around 4000 new items, around 6 new instanced areas and open maps, a newbie player server, new NPC race, new skills and finally various improvements on existing functions. That is a whole lot of wonderful new stuff to a game that has a very loyal US player base.

What do you think about when someone says Dragon Ball Z? Personally, I think over-the-top martial arts action with overdone, extended "powering up" scenes. The games thankfully don't have the issue of taking to0 long to get to that action. Is Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi, which makes some changes to the typical anime fighting game formula, a hit or should it be sent to Otherworld?Ultimate Tenkaichi follows the Goku's journey from the start of the Dragon Ball Z series to the end with some of the movie storylines thrown in for extra fun. Every DBZ game has basically been the same story told over and over again. It's how the game plays and looks that tends to change. This time around the developers tell part of the story using in game footage for the fights but, sadly, the rest is done in text before each battle. How does the game handle though?

The fighting is broken up into two areas: close combat and ranged, hitting the A button twice to switch between the two, followed by a simple quick time event. When you are in close combat your attacks are melee focused and allow you to pull off combos which can lead into a follow-up chain attack. The ranged combat ends up being about the same, with Y being setup for heavy attacks and X still doing combos that lead into a chain... This tends to become slightly boring and repetitive and you'll quickly learn that the whole point of the combat system is to build up "spirit" which allows you to fire off your special attacks. The special moves are what you'd expect them to be: huge, ridiculous attacks that could blow up a planet, but don't. All the series favorites are here for each character with some of them only becoming available at certain points in the story.

The biggest change to this "new" Dragon Ball game is the create-a-hero mode. As you play through the story you'll unlock more movies, characters and styles that can be used in both the VS and Hero modes. The idea of making your own Z fighter and taking him though battles against iconic fighters in the series is rather impressive and long overdue. Best of all, you then can even take that fighter you created into multiplayer.

Speaking of multiplayer, it is a mess! Ultimate Tenkaichi is not nearly as technically sound as hardcore fighting games or even anime games like Naruto. Each battle comes down to who is the better person at guessing in the mini games. It really could have used more work and a deeper fighting system for both single and multiplayer but Ultimate Tenkaichi continues to do what DBZ games do best: simply please fans of the series and ONLY fans of the series.Technically, Ultimate Tenkaichi is one of the better looking DBZ games with an impressive cell shaded look and good textures. The biggest issue is the animation for the character models when they're speaking. It looks horrible and feels straight out of a last generation game. The voice over, in both English and Japanese, use the original actors and sync well with the series since they're rather used to the characters and material. Now and then you get animated clips from Dragon Ball Kai at major moments in the series but the footage unfortunately plays in low quality. It's almost as if they dropped the frame rate to make the data fit on the disc or perhaps the encoding is off. It just isn't anywhere near the quality you would get watching the show itself on DVD. Then there are the load times which, either before or during a match, are horribly long and down right inexcusable in this day and age.I am going to make this short and sweet and stop running around the bush on this one. Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi is for fans, hardcore dedicated fans. Those is only people that I would recommended Ultimate Tenkaichi to. Fighting game fans will find it overly simplistic. Those unfamiliar with the series will get bored with how they introduce and go though the plot. And everyone will get frustrated with the long loading times.

Ultimate Tenkaichi could have been one of the best games in the history of the series because they actually made an effort to try new things and while some of them worked out more than a few didn't. Ultimately, the game needed more work, less bugs, and quite a bit more depth. I've loved Dragon Ball since I started watching it every morning, years before Cartoon Network picked it up, and sadly, even as a fan, this is a disappointment. It manages to improve upon its predecessors but still fails to live up to its license.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Consider it is from the director of Despicable Me this could be finally a good adaption of a Dr. Seuss book. My only personally issue is that I don't remember this one at all. It isn't as memorable as Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham or even Horton. So why would this one get a chance as a CGI film rather than rebooting say Cat in the Hat. I mean rebooting cause there was a horrible down right Highlander 2 bad live action movie.

Soooo, when did Ridge Racer become Burnout?! So my creation, my city is a big saying in the trailer. Does this mean we build cities for other people to race in and go out and dominate other ones? This trailer looks less like Ridge Racer than any game in the series and just leaves me confused. Enough so that I don't even feel like making the typical joke about this franchise from a certain Sony press conference.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Hey Internet, we're back with a slightly shorter but just as action packed Geek Switch Podcast! On this, our 19th episode, Colin and I discuss Dark Souls, Batman: Arkham City, Dance Central 2, Kirby's Return to Dreamland, Battlefield 3, and the news of the week. I told you it was action packed!

The Big Crits Update is once again brought to you by the always hilarious Suzu while Stoney is busy with super important things. Or so I'm told. Anyway, don't forget to send us your letters (with questions, please) to Switchcast@geekswitch.net because we'll have LOTS of free games to give away over the next few shows and want to hear from YOU! Until next week, keep it switched on!

Just a few minutes off the heels of the Grand Theft Auto V trailer THQ puts out this new Saints Row the Third trailer that has some fun stuff. By fun stuff I do mean parodies of Red Faction, Akira, a fart in a jar weapon, dildo bat... and Burt Reynolds as the Mayor?! What the Flying F***! Ya this series isn't trying to compete with Rockstar on the whole serious open world gangster game. Nope now they are just going for fun, bat shit crazy open world gameplay.

Now I am really excited for this game Devil May Cry game! Capcom has also came out and said that this universe is its own. The old Dante from the previous games lives in his own universe and this one is a parallel to the old. Not only that but one of the biggest complaints is the new look of the main character and in this trailer we get a hint at his possible "demon" mode where he looks like the stylish old white hair Dante?! This game is shaping up to be a fine reboot and a new jumping off for fans!

Here it is! Happy GTA day. This new game looks to be Rockstars take on Los Angeles. They have stepped into this area of the world before with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. So is this ignoring that place even exists or maybe this place is north of there. It does show a Vinewood sign were the Hollywood sign should be. So ya it is Rockstar LA. The game engine looks to be an upgrade of GTA4.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

The servers for both PS3 and PC are back up and running. Download, install and get ready to run around in tights as you make your own super powered character in the world of DC Comics! OH.... and this game DOES have Mark Hamil as the Joker! The main sight for DCUO is down right now but you can install the game though SOE game launcher here!

Dance Central, developed by the brilliant minds at Harmonix, was easily the killer app for Kinect. It did a great job showing off just how precise Kinect could be while offering an experience you couldn't replicate anywhere else. Sure, dancing games were nothing new, with Dance Dance Revolution and Just Dance having already paved the way, but Dance Central was the first time a dance game tracked your whole body and that made all the difference.

Now, in typical Harmonix fashion, the series returns a year later in Dance Central 2 with a whole host of new features and refinements to the existing mechanics. Don't get me wrong, if you didn't like Dance Central or don't like dancing at all, Dance Central 2 will NOT change your mind. If you know what you're in for though, Dance Central 2 is one of the best games you'll play all year.

Wait... WHAT THE FLYING F***?! Half the fun of this game was social interaction IN PERSON. And the Other half was collecting and forming your team. Now they want you to do it online and spend your money for mini figs you cant physically own?! I think Wizkids may have spent too much time around Wizards of the Coast and Magic Online... This i a terrible idea!

Well this does address part of what made the original so good. Unlike Deus Ex were it is about one man making things happen. Syndicate is about a team! Now we get to look at co-op gameplay, Thank you! Though the customization options looks like someone has watched The Matrix a few times.